Kvalserien, also known as Kvalserien till SHL, was the Swedish round-robin ice hockey tournament to qualify for play in the next season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, previously named Elitserien), Sweden's top-level ice hockey league for men. It was replaced by a playoff round in the 2014âÂÂ15 season.
Kvalserien was formed after the regular seasons of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, previously named Elitserien) and the second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan had been played. The two worst ranked teams in the SHL and the best four teams in HockeyAllsvenskan formed the league together with the winner of a six-round round-robin tournament between the teams ranked 4âÂÂ7 from HockeyAllsvenskan. The six Kvalserien teams played each other twice, once at home ice and once on the road, giving 10 games per team and a total of 30 games. The two teams finishing first and second were promoted to the SHL the next season, while the remaining four teams played in HockeyAllsvenskan the next season.
IF Björklöven and TimrÃÂ¥ IK returned to Elitserien after respectively one and eighteen seasons in lesser divisions. VIK VästerÃÂ¥s HK and Linköpings HC were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
Linköpings HC and Södertälje SK returned to Elitserien after one and three seasons, respectively, in lesser divisions. Leksands IF and IF Björklöven were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
TimrÃÂ¥ IK re-qualified for Elitserien and Leksands IF returned to Elitserien after one year in lesser divisions. AIK were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
Both Linköpings HC and Brynäs IF re-qualified for Elitserien.
Malmö Redhawks re-qualified for Elitserien and Mora IK qualified for Elitserien for the first time in club history. Leksands IF were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
Brynäs IF re-qualified for Elitserien and Leksands IF returned to Elitserien after one year in lesser divisions. Malmö Redhawks were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
Malmö Redhawks and SkellefteÃÂ¥ AIK respectively finished first and second and qualified for play in Elitserien in the 2006âÂÂ07 season. Södertälje SK and Leksands IF were relegated from Elitserien and were forced to spend the 2006-07 season in HockeyAllsvenskan.
SkellefteÃÂ¥ AIK re-qualified for Elitserien and Södertälje SK returned to Elitserien after one year in lesser divisions.
Brynäs IF remained in the highest league and Rögle BK were promoted to Elitserien at the expense of Mora IK.
Södertälje SK and Rögle BK ended up respectively second and first and both re-qualified for Elitserien for the 2009âÂÂ10 season.
Södertälje SK finished first in Kvalserien for the second consecutive year, and AIK returned to Elitserien after eight seasons in lesser divisions.
Växjö Lakers, HockeyAllsvenskan's regular-season winners, finished with 26 points and qualified for Elitserien for the first time in club history, at the expense of Södertälje SK. Modo Hockey re-qualified for Elitserien.
TimrÃÂ¥ IK defended their Elitserien spot, while Rögle BK returned to Elitserien after two years and replaced DjurgÃÂ¥rdens IF who were relegated to the second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan, for the first time since the 1977âÂÂ78 season. Rögle became the first HockeyAllsvenskan team in history to qualify for Elitserien by winning the playoff round to get into the Kvalserien.
For the first time since 2006, neither of the two Elitserien teams, TimrÃÂ¥ IK and Rögle BK, managed to defend their Elitserien/SHL spot. Instead, HockeyAllsvenskan teams ÃÂrebro HK (who qualified through a Playoff round-robin tournament) and regular-season winner Leksands IF took the two available spots for the 2013âÂÂ14 SHL season. ÃÂrebro promoted to the SHL for the first time in club history, while Leksand returned to the SHL for the first time since 2005âÂÂ06. TimrÃÂ¥ were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan for the first time since 1999âÂÂ2000, while Rögle's return to Elitserien lasted for only one season.
The 40th and final Kvalserien ended with ÃÂrebro HK defending their SHL spot and DjurgÃÂ¥rdens IF returning to the top-tier league after a two-year stint in HockeyAllsvenskan. AIK were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.